Treatment of textile materials



Patented July 16, 1940 TREATMENT OF TEXTILE MATERIALS George Holland Ellis, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignor to Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application April 12, 1938, Serial 6 Claims.

This invention relates to the treatment of textile materials, and particularly to the treatment of yarns and similar textile materials in compact package form. V

The treatment with liquid media of textile yarns in compact package form, e. g. when wound on bobbins, presents a considerable difliculty in regard to the production of evenly treated products. If the packages are tightly wound the i treating liquid cannot penetrate evenly throughout the layers of yarn so that uneven products result. On the other hand, if the packages are wound loosely the difliculty arises that, doubtless due to the difficulty in winding loose packages perfectly evenly, the liquid'used tends to create tunnels, again resulting in unevenly treated prod- I ucts.

It has now been discovered that the difiiculties referred to above may be overcome and substantially uniform treatment achieved if the yarn or similar textile material, prior to packaging, is coated with a film of a soluble or readily dispersible film-iorming substance and this substance is removed from the material by dissolution or dispersion after packaging and prior to, or simultaneously with, the liquid treatment which it is desired to apply; or if the yarn or similar textile material, prior to packaging, is coated with a film of a substance which, whilst not solu- 90 ble or readily dispersible in the liquid medium which it is desired to apply, is nevertheless readily penetrable by such liquid.

It is not necessary, according to the new process, to wind the packages loosely, so that the difllculties arising in the winding of loose packages are eliminated and very evenly wound packages may be produced. Where the film-forming substance is soluble or readily dispersible and is removedfrom the materials prior to, or simultaneously with, the treatment with the desired liquid medium, such removal in effect converts the package to an evenly wound loose package and thus permits not only even penetration of the package by the liquid medium but, if the medium is such as to have a shrinking action, permits the yarn or similar textile material forming the package to shrink under the action of the liquid medium. Similarly, where the film-forming substance is readily penetrable by the liquid medium which it is desired to apply to the textile material but is not actually removed from the textile material, the presence of such film-forming substance prevents direct contact between the lay 55 ers of textile material forming the package and In Great Britain April 15, 193'! the package is therefore comparable to a loosely "wound package.

. treatment with the desired liquid medium; or by subjectinga compact package of a yarn or sim-' ilar textile material which has, prior to packaging, been coated with a film-forming substance which is readily penetrable by the liquid medium which it is desired to employ, to treatment with the desired liquid medium.

The invention is of especial value in connection with treatment with liquid media 'of yarn 1', ,1- in the form of bobbins, cones, cheeses, pirns, cakes and the like. Preferably the bobbins or other packages of yarn treated are cross-wound with a rapid traverse. 2

The invention may be applied to the treatment of textile materials in a compact package form with any kind of liquid medium and it-is of especial value in connection with the dyeing of bobbins and other compact packages of yarn by processes wherein the dye liquor is caused to pass so through layers of yarn in the package. However, other aqueous treatments may also be eflected according to the invention, e. g. treatments with liquid shrinking media, and, in the case of cellulose ester textile materials, treatments with solug5 tlons of saponifying agents.

The textile materials treated may be artificial textile materials having a basis, for example, of cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose or of regenerated cellulose, e. g. pro- 40 duced by the cuprammonium, viscose or nitrocellulose processes, or may be natural textile materials, e. g. cotton, silk or wool.

The particular film-forming substance applied to the textile material in accordance with the invention will, of course, be chosen having regard to the nature of the liquid medium it is desired to apply to the textile material. It should be such that it has no deleterious effect on the textile material to which it is applied and, if it is intended to remove it, such that it can readily be removed without deleteriously affecting the textile material itself. In general, substances soluble or dispersible in aqueous media will be employed. As indicated above, the invention is of 5 particular value in processes for dyeing textile materials in package form and since in such processes aqueous dye liquors will, in general, be employed, the use of a film-forming substance which is soluble or readily dispersible in water enables the removal of such substances to be eflected simultaneously with the dyeing operation by the dissolving or dispersing action of the dye liquor itself.

The following are examples of substances which are soluble in, readily dispersible in, or readily penetrable by, aqueous liquids and which may be applied to the textile materials where the treating media to be applied are aqueous or where an aqueous treatment prior to the desired liquid treatment is convenient.

(a) Film-forming carbohydrates, e. g. glucose, dextrose and cane sugar, and celluloses soluble in water or in water containing a small proportion of alkali, for example p-cellulose, y-cellulose or other degraded celluloses which are more or less soluble in dilute aqueous alkalies or water. Such celluloses may be those prepared by direct degradation of cellulose, for example by treatment with alkalies or acids, e. g. by treating with dilute or concentrated caustic soda or by the action of sulphuric acid. They may also be those prepared by degrading a suitable cellulose derivative and subsequently regenerating cellulose from the degradedproduct. For example, cellulose may be regenerated from a viscose solution which has been ripened to a degree very considerably beyond that of the viscose solutions normally used for spinning artificial filaments. Again, cellulose acetate may be ripened until sol uble in dilute alcohol and then saponified.

(b) Film-forming carbohydrate esters or ethers soluble in water or aqueous liquids, particularly cellulose esters or ethers having the property of dissolving in water or aqueous liquids owing to the degree of degradation of the cellulose molecule and/or the presence, in esterifying acid radicles or in ether radicles, of hydrophile groups for example hydroxyl'groups or acid or basic groups, e. g. amino groups, carboxy groups or sulphonic groups. There may be utilised for instance the cellulose esters or ethers which have been ripened so that they are soluble in dilute acetone, dilute alcohol, or water, or the cellulose esters referred to in U. S. Patent No. 1,950,664 and obtainable by esterifying cellulose, e. g. in the presence of chloro-acetic anhydride, with dicarboxylic acids, for example oxalic acid or maleic acid, or obtainable by subjecting cellulose acetate to the action of a hydroxy-carboxylic acidfie. g. glycollic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, mandelic acid, tartaric acid, or a glyceric acid, so as to replace acetic acid residues by hydroxy-acidyl or carboxy-acidyl residues. Again, there may be utilized the cellulose ethers referred to in U. S. Patent No. 1,978,785 and in which the cellulose is etherified so as to contain residues of glycols or other polyhydric alcohols, for example by the action of ethylene oxide or other alkylene oxide or in the manner described in U. S. Patent No. 1,502,379 and British Patent No. 277,721, or in which the cellulose is etherified with carboxy-alkyl groups, for example by treating alkali cellulose with chloroacetic acid, in the manner described in U. S. Patent No. 1,884,629, so as to produce cellulose derivatives containing 1% to 2 or more carboxy methyl ether groups per CcHmOs molecule. Cellulose carboxy methyl ethers soluble in dilute aqueous ammonia are especially useful.

(c) Polymerised vinyl compounds containing hydroxy or other groups of. hydrophile character, for example polyvinyl alcohol, partially saponifled polyvinyl esters, e. g. polyvinyl acetate which has been saponified until it contains about of the original acetic acid radicles, polyvinyl esters or ethers of which esterifying acid radicles or etherifying radicles contain hydrophile groups, for example polyvinyl oxy-alkyl ethers, e. g. products obtained by the action of ethylene or other alkylene oxide on polyvinyl alcohol, and

polyvinyl esters of hydroxy-carboxylic acids or dior poly-basic acids. The film-forming substance may be the product obtained by saponifying polymerised vinyl acetate or other polymerised vinyl ester in the manner described in U. S.-

' poly-hydric alcohols as described in U. S. application S. No, 67,149 filed 4th March, 1936.

(f) Film-forming substances of the albumen type, for example casein or gelatine. Casein may readily be dissolved in water containing a small amount of alkali, for example ammonia.

The film-forming substance applied to the textile material may be a substance which is soluble in organic solvents. As examples of filmforming substances soluble in organic solvents there may be mentioned natural and synthetic resins, gums, waxes, higher aliphatic acids such as stearic acid, and their derivatives. and cellulose derivatives.

The application of the film-forming substance to the textile material is, as stated above, effected prior to the conversion of the textile material into the package form in which it is to be treated with the liquid medium. Where the treatment is applied to yarns, the film-forming substance is preferably applied to the yarn while the yarn is travelling from one point to another, e. g. during the course of a winding operation. The film forming substance will, in general, be applied to the yarns in the form of a solution but where, as in the case of waxes, the film-forming substance is fusible, it may be applied in molten condition. The film-forming substance may be applied by spraying it on to the yarns or by applying it to the yarns by means of wicks, rollers or other furnishing devices. Preferably, where the film-forming substance is applied in the form of a solution, it is dried on the yarn prior to the conversion of the yarn into package form.

In effecting the dyeing of yarns in package form in accordance with this invention the dyeing operation is preferably carried out by immersing the package of yarn in the dye liquor and forcing the dye liquor continuously through the layers of yarn in the package. Thus the yarn may be wound on to a perforated bobbin and the dye liquor forced'from the interior to the exterior of such bobbin and vice versa.

At the conclusion of the dyeing operation or other liquid treatment the packages may be washed free from dye liquor or other liquid used and may be treated for the removal of any film- 75 forming substances which may remain on the yarns.

The terms dispersion and dispersible" as employed hereinafter in the claims are to be construed as including within their scope dissolution" and soluble.

Having described my invention what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Process for the treatment with liquid media of yarns and similar textile materials in compact package form, which comprises subjecting a compact package of a yarn or similar textile material which has, prior to packaging, been coated with a readily dispersible film-forming substance, to treatment to remove said substance by dispersion and, at the earliest simultaneously therewith, to treatment with the desired liquid medium.

2. Process for the treatment with liquid media of yarns and similar textile materials, which comprises coating a yarn or similar textile material with a readily dispersible film-forming substance, then converting the yarn or similar textile material to compact package form, and thereafter subjecting the yarn or similar textile material while in such package form to treatment to remove said substance by dispersion and, at the earliest simultaneously therewith, to treatment with the desired liquid medium.

3. Process for the treatment with aqueous liquid media of yarns or similar textile materials, which comprises coating a yarn or similar textile material with a film-forming substance which is readily dispersible in aqueous liquid media, then converting the yarn or similar textile material to compact package form and thereafter subjecting the yarn or similar textile material simultaneously therewith, to treatment with an appropriate aqueous dye liquor.

5. Process for the treatment with aqueous liquid media of yarns or similar textile materials which comprises coating a yarn or similar textile material with a water-soluble film-forming carbohydrate, then converting the yarn or similar textile material to compact package form, and thereafter subjecting the yarn or similar textile material while in such package form to treatment to remove said carbohydrate by dispersion and, at the earliest simultaneously therewith, to treatment with the desired liquid medium.

6. Process for coloring yarns or similar textile materials, which comprises coating a yarn or similar textile material with glucose, then converting the yarn or similar textile material to compact package form and thereafter subjecting the yarn or similar textile material while in such package form to treatment to remove the glucose by dispersion and, at the earliest simultaneously therewith, to treatment with an appropriate aqueous dye liquor.

GEORGE HOLLAND ELLIS. 

